Tubing coupling

ABSTRACT

A coupling of flexible structure for removably connecting the adjacent, generally axially aligned ends of two lengths of tubing, which tubing end portions have transverse, circumferentially extending, outwardly projecting beads formed thereon. The coupling includes a tubular flexible connector that effects primary seals with resilient rings that encircle said end portions, and the rings in turn being in sealing engagement with said beads. A flexible spring loaded cable removably engages slotted portions of ferrules that form a part of the coupling to prevent longitudinal separation of the ferrules and without axially loading the connector beyond the extent necessary to maintain an effective seal. The coupling includes longitudinally split, generally cylindrical adapters that permit the coupling to be used to removably connect end portions of tubing that already have beads formed therein. The adapters used must, of course, conform to the external surface configuration of the already formed end portions of the tubing. Thus, the coupling may be used on tubing having beaded end portions that were initially intended to be connected by a flexible hose and associated clamps. By varying the thickness of the adapters tubing of various diameters may be connected by use of the same coupling.

United States Patent 1 Burtis Oct. 30,1973

[ TUBING COUPLING [75] Inventor: Wilson A. Burtis, Westminster,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Delaval Turbine California Inc.,

Princeton, NJ.

[22] Filed: Jan. 5, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 215,456

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 2,470,Jan. 13,

1970, Pat. No. 3,647,246.

[52] US. Cl 285/114, 285/226, 285/301, 285/415 [51] Int. Cl. F161 55/00[58] Field of Search 285/109, 114, 226, 285/227, 229, 126, 299, 300,301, 414, 415, 419, 233

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,242,568 10/1917 Loughridge285/415 X 2,081,021 5/1937 Smith et a1 285/415 X 2,793,883 5/1957 Main285/229 2,898,940 8/1959 Cole 285/114 X 3,084,957 4/1963 Caldwell285/301 X 3,456,965 7/1969 Gajewski et al. 285/419 X 3,647,246 7/1972Burtis 285/114 Primary ExaminerJordan Franklin 7 AssistantExaminer-Wayne L. Shedd Attorney-William C. Babcock [57] ABSTRACT Acoupling of flexible structure for removably connecting the adjacent,generally axially aligned ends of two lengths of tubing, which tubingend portions have transverse, circumferentially extending, outwardlyprojecting beads formed thereon. The coupling includes a tubularflexible connector that effects primary seals with resilient rings thatencircle said end portions, and the rings in turn being in sealingengagement with said beads. A flexible spring loaded cable removablyengages slotted portions of ferrules that form a part of the coupling toprevent longitudinal separation of the ferrules and without axiallyloading the connector beyond the extent necessary to maintain aneffective seal.

The coupling includes longitudinally split, generally cylindricaladapters that permit the coupling to be used to removably connect endportions of tubing that 7 V 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Patented Oct. 30, 1973 1N VE N TOR. MLsO/V 19. 802 77.5

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Array/var TUBING COUPLING CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICA- TlON Thispresent application is a continuation-in-part of my copendingapplication filed Jan. 13, 1970, under Ser. No. 2,470, entitled TubingCoupling and Flaring Tool for Use Therewith," now U.S. Pat. No.3,647,246, issued Mar. 7, 1972.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Tubing Coupling.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, it has been common practiceto use a length of flexible hose with associated clamps to connect twolongitudinally spaced end portions of tubing. The tubing end portionsnormally have transverse, circumferentially extending beads formed as anintegral part thereof. The beads sealingly engage interior surfaceportions of the hose.

Such connections have several operational disadvantages. The hose tendsto deteriorate when exposed to hot gases or hot air, and has arelatively short life. Also, the hose will permanently deform whensubjected to the pressure of the clamps, and accordingly the clamps mustbe periodically tightened if the hose is to continue to sealinglyconnect the end portions of the tubing.

The primary purpose in devising the present invention is to supply alight-weight coupling of simple mechanical structure that isparticularly adaptable for replacing prior art connections, and withoutcutting or otherwise altering the structure of the end portions of thetubing previously connected by the hose.

A further purpose in devising the present invention is to supply aflexible connector that overcomes certain operational disadvantages ofprior art connectors, in that the present invention does not deteriorateappreciably under normal usage, nor does it require periodic inspectionand adjustment to function properly.

Yet another purpose in devising the present invention is to furnish aconnector with associated adapters that permit the same coupling to beused on tubing of various external diameters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A flexible coupling for connecting adjacent endportions of tubing that have been formed to include transverse,circumferentially extending, outwardly projecting beads such as are usedwhen the end portions are to be connected by a length of hose.

The coupling includes two ring-shaped ferrules and a tubular connector.The ferrules encircle multi-piece cylindrical adapter assemblies thatextend around the exterior end portions of the tubing and conform to theparticular configuration thereof. Two resilient rings that are insealing engagement with the beads also sealingly engage the adjacent endportions of the connector. The end portions of the connector span theadjacent free ends of the adapters and at least parts of the adjacentfree ends of the ferrules. The ferrules are slotted and are removablyengaged by a pliable tensioned cable to permit a desired degree ofcompression to be placed on the flexible connector. The ferrules areremovably held in encircling positions on the adapters by snap ringsthat engage circumferentially extending, transversely aligned slotsformed in the adapters.

A major object of the present invention is to provide a flexible tubingcoupling for removably connecting adjacently disposed end portions oftubing that already have circumferentially extending beads formedthereon, and without cutting or altering the configuration of said endportions.

Another object of the invention is to supply a coupling that may be usedto maintain non-leaking communication between the adjacent ends of thetwo lengths of tubing that may be misaligned or subject to longitudinalor angular movement relative to one another, and the coupling capable ofbeing mounted on the tubing without tools and by persons having littleor no specialized knowledge of the coupling art.

A further object of the invention is to furnish a coupling that willfail safe even though the marcelled wire or pliable cable connecting theferrules should break.

Yet another object of the invention is to supply a tubing coupling inwhich the surface to surface seals remain in a static sealing positioneven through there may be substantial flexing or longitudinaldeformation of the connector extending between the ferrules.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective viewof the coupling and the beaded end portions of the tubing that it is toconnect together;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the coupling in a made upcondition; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of a portion ofthe coupling taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The coupling A, as may best beseen in FIGS. 1 to 3, is adapted to establish a flexible connectionbetween the adjacently disposed end portions of two lengths of tubing B,which end portions have transverse circumferentially extending beads 10formed thereon. Two longitudinally split cylindrical adapters D areprovided that have internal surfaces 12 that conform to the external endsurfaces 14 of the tubing B. In FIG. 3 it will be seen that the adaptersD have transverse grooves 16 therein that conform to and envelop thebeads 10.

A tubular connector E in the form of a resilient bellows extends betweenfirst and second ferrules C. The bellows E has inwardly extending endportions, to be described later in detail, that effect primary pressureseals with two resilient O-rings 19, and the O-rings 19, in turn, effectpressure seals with the beads 10, as may best be seen in FIG. 3.Connector E is formed from at least one sheet of a resilient material,and as a result may flex both longitudinally and transversely to permitlimited movement of the first and second lengths of tubing relative toone another.

The first and second ferrules are removably connected by a pliable cableF, as shown in FIG. 2', to prevent longitudinal separation of theferrules, as well as maintain the end portions of the connector E indesired pressure sealing contact with the resilient rings 19.

Each of the ferrules C is defined by a ring-shaped body 20 that has abore 22 extending longitudinally therethrough. Each bore 22 is of suchdiameter as to slidably and snuggly engage the exterior surface 23 ofone of the adapters D as shown in FIG. 3. The bodies havecircumferentially extending recesses 24 therein that extend outwardlyfrom bores 22.

Each ferrule C has an interior, transverse, circumferentially extendingbody shoulder that extends between bore 22 and recess 24. Each adapter Dincludes at least two longitudinally split segments D-1 and D-2 that areshown in and exploded position in the righthand portion of FIG. 1.The'body shoulders 25 taper in such directions that the segments D-1 andD-2 tend to have the surfaces 25 thereof forced into greater pressurecontact as the first and second ferrules C are forced towards oneanother by increasing the tension on cable F.

The adapter sections D-1 and D-2, when the: surfaces 26 thereof are inabutting contact, as shown to the left of FIG. 1, and cooperate todefine a generally cylindrical adapter D that has at least a portion ofthe surface 23 in snug engagement with the surface of a ferrule C thatdefines the bore 22. Each adapter D when assembled as shown in FIGS. 1and 3, has external circumferentiaily extending surfaces 24a and 25athat are in abutting contact with surfaces 24 and 25 of one of theadapters C.

Connector E, as may best be seen in FIG. 3,. includes two circular endsections 28 that are partially disposed in circular recesses 28a formedin the ferrules C. Each section 28 includes a cylindrical flange 29 thatis bonded by conventional means to a cylindrical end portion 320 of thebellows 32. The bellows 32 may be formed from a single sheet ofresilient material, or two abutting sheets 32, as illustrated in FIG. 3.The interior sheet 32 may have physical characteristics different fromthose of the exterior sheet. Thus, the interior sheet 32 may be of amaterial that is highly resistant to corrosion from the fluids flowingthrough the coupling A.

Each flange 29 has a resilient wall that extends inwardly therefrom,with the wall tapering to the extend that it is slightly spaced from thesurface 28b of ferrule C. The walls 30 of the two end portions 28 of thebellows taper towards one another. Both of the walls 30 develop on theirinner ends into cylindrical shells 34 that develop on their inner endsinto ring-shaped members 35 that overlie the inner end surfaces of theferrules C and adapters D. Members 35 have slightly curved free endportions 35a that are in pressure sealing contact with O-rings 19.

The ferrules C, as shown in FIG. 2, have a number of angularly disposed,circumferentially spaced slots 42 therein that are engaged by an endlessloop of pliable cable F. The cable F is laced into the slots 42 in acrisscross pattern and defines a sequence of figure 8s as the cableextends around the ferrules C. The cable F is tensioned sufficiently tomaintain member portions 35a in desired pressure sealing contact withthe O-rings 19, and the O-rings in turn being in sealing contact withthe tubing surfaces 14 and beads '10.

Uniform tension may be maintained on cable F by causing a loop 44thereof to removably engage a slotted block 52 that is slidably mountedon a threaded rod 54 that extends outwardly from either the first orsecond ferrule C, as shown in FIG. 2. A compressed helical spring 56encircles rod 54 and has the abutting ends thereof in contact with therod-supporting ferrule C 6 and block 52. Rod 54 is engaged by a nut 58that adjustably limits the outward positioning of block 52 relative tothe rod-supporting ferrule C. By adjusting nut 58 on rod 54 the tensionon cable F may be increased or decreased, and the pressure sealingcontact between member surfaces 35a and O-rings 19 controlled.

Split, resilent rings 60 are provided that are seated in circumferentialgrooves 62 defined in the ferrules C. The snap rings 60 overlie portionsof the cable F, and prevent the latter from being inadvertentlydisplaced from the slots 42.

Adapters D, as shown in the drawing, are formed with circumferentiallyextending grooves 64 in which snap rings 66 are removably mounted. Therings 66 are adjacently disposed to the outer ends of the ferrules C,and prevent inadvertent longitudinal movement of the ferrules away fromone another even should the cable F be removed from the coupling.

Although an O-ring has been shown and described as the sealing ring 19,it will be apparent that sealing rings of other than a circular crosssection may be used if desired. The O-rings 19 are partially situated intransversely aligned grooves 68 formed in the adapters D. The couplingabove described may be used with lengths of tubing B of differentexternal diameters by varying the thickness of the adapters.

The coupling A above described serves the same functions as the adaptersdescribed in my copending application Ser. No. 2,470, but differstherefrom in that the end portions of the tubing to be connected neednot be flared.

I claim:

1. A coupling for use in connecting first and second axially alignedlengths of tubing having first and second longitudinally spaced endportions on which transverse, circumferentially extending, outwardlyprojecting first and second beads are defined, said coupling including:

a. first and second longitudinally split, generally cylindrical adaptersthat have interior surfaces that snugly engage the exterior surfaces ofsaid end portions and said beads, with the adjacent end surfaces of saidadapters having circumferential grooves therein that are incommunication with at least a part of said beads;

b. first and second resilient sealing rings disposed in said groovesthat encircle said first and second end portions, with said ringsprojecting outwardly from said grooves towards one another;

c. first and second ringshaped ferrules removably mounted in first fixedpositions on said adapters and encircling the latter;

d. a resilient tubular connector of such configuration as to be capableof flexing at least longitudinally, said connector being disposedbetween said first and second adapters and said first and secondferrules, said connector including first and second inwardly extendingend portions that are in abutting contact with said sealing rings; and

e. first means for so connecting said ferrules as to axially compresssaid connector to the extent that said first and second connector endportions pressureand sealingly engage said sealing rings, and saidpressure on said rings forcing the latter into sealing contact with saidbeads and sections of the interior surface of said adaptors and theexternal surfaces of said tubing.

2. A coupling as defined in claim 1 in which said connector is ofbellows configuration intermediate said end extremities thereof topermit said connector to flex both longitudinally and transversely, andsaid first means is a pliable elongate member formed into an endlessloop that engages a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots formedin the exterior surface of said ferrules to define a succession offigureS configurations as said member extends around said bellows, andsaid member allowing said connector to flex transversely but preventingfurther longitudinal separation of said ferrules when said lengths oftubing are axially aligned.

3. A coupling as defined in claim 2 which in addition includes:

f. second means for preventing said elongate member being inadvertentlydisplaced from said slots.

4. A coupling as defined in claim 1 in which said first and secondadapters have first and second body shoulders defined on the exteriorsurfaces thereof that act as stops to dispose said ferrules in saidfirst positions when said ferrules are initially moved onto saidadapters.

5. A coupling as defined in claim 4 which in addition includes:

f. second means that cooperate with said body shoulders to removablyhold said ferrules in said first positions on said adapters.

6. A coupling as defined in claim 1 in which said first and second endportions of said connector extend inwardly over free adjacent endsurfaces of said first and second ferrules and first and second adaptersbefore pressure sealing with said first and second resilient rings.

7. a coupling as defined in claim 1 in which the adjacent surfaces ofsaid first and second ferrules have recesses formed therein in whichparts of said first and second end portions of said connector areremovably disposed.

8. A coupling as defined in claim 5 in which said second means are firstand second snap rings that abut against said first and second ferrulesand removably engage circumferential grooves formed in said first andsecond adapters.

1. A coupling for use in connecting first and second axially alignedlengths of tubing having first and second longitudinally spaced endportions on which transverse, circumferentially extending, outwardlyprojecting first and second beads are defined, said coupling including:a. first and second longitudinally split, generally cylindrical adaptersthat have interior surfaces that snugly engage the exterior surfaces ofsaid end portions and said beads, with the adjacent end surfaces of saidadapters having circumferential grooves therein that are incommunication with at least a part of said beads; b. first and secondresilient sealing rings disposed in said grooves that encircle saidfirst and second end portions, with said rings projecting outwardly fromsaid grooves towards one another; c. first and second ring-shapedferrules removably mounted in first fixed positions on said adapters andencircling the latter; d. a resilient tubular connector of suchconfiguration as to be capable of flexing at least longitudinally, saidconnector being disposed between said first and second adapters and saidfirst and second ferrules, said connector including first and secondinwardly extending end portions that are in abutting contact with saidsealing rings; and e. first means for so connecting said ferrules as toaxially compress said connector to the extent that said first and secondconnector end portions pressure- and sealingly engage said sealingrings, and said pressure on said rings forcing the latter into sealingcontact with said beads and sections of the interior surface of saidadaptors and the external surfaces of said tubing.
 2. A coupling asdefined in claim 1 in which said connector is of bellows configurationintermediate said end extremities thereof to permit said connector toflex both longitudinally and transversely, and said first means is apliable elongate member formed into an endless loop that engages aplurality of circumferentially spaced slots formed in the exteriorsurface of said ferrules to define a succession of FIG. 8 configurationsas said member extends around said bellows, and said member allowingsaid connector to flex transversely but preventing further longitudinalseparation of said ferrules when said lengths of tubing are axiallyaligned.
 3. A coupling as defined in claim 2 which in addition includes:f. second means for preventing said elongate member being inadvertentlydisplaced from said slots.
 4. A coupling as defined in claim 1 in Whichsaid first and second adapters have first and second body shouldersdefined on the exterior surfaces thereof that act as stops to disposesaid ferrules in said first positions when said ferrules are initiallymoved onto said adapters.
 5. A coupling as defined in claim 4 which inaddition includes: f. second means that cooperate with said bodyshoulders to removably hold said ferrules in said first positions onsaid adapters.
 6. A coupling as defined in claim 1 in which said firstand second end portions of said connector extend inwardly over freeadjacent end surfaces of said first and second ferrules and first andsecond adapters before pressure sealing with said first and secondresilient rings.
 7. a coupling as defined in claim 1 in which theadjacent surfaces of said first and second ferrules have recesses formedtherein in which parts of said first and second end portions of saidconnector are removably disposed.
 8. A coupling as defined in claim 5 inwhich said second means are first and second snap rings that abutagainst said first and second ferrules and removably engagecircumferential grooves formed in said first and second adapters.